How to do a successful research

1. Decide what information should be sought
2. Decide what type of questionnaire should be used
3. Write a first draft of the questionnaire.
4. Reexamine and revise the questionnaire.
5. Pretest the questionnaire.
6. Edit the questionnaire and specify the procedures for its use.
7. Type of Response: open-ended (free response) questions or closed (multiple choice) questions
 

Good Questionnaire items should: 

- Include vocabulary that is simple, direct and familiar to all respondents.
- Be clear and specific.
- Not involve leading, loaded or double-barreled questions.
- Be as short as possible (20 or fewer words).
- Include all conditional information prior to the key idea.
- Be edited for readability.
- Guidelines for the General Format of a Questionnaire
 

Design of Questionaire 

- Attractive
- Each question is identified with a letter indicating the section of the questionnaire and a number specifying the individual question.
- Questions with the same response format appear together
 

Ordering of Questions 

- Which question to ask first?
- The first few questions set the tone for the rest of the questionnaire
- Demographic data should be obtained at the end of a self-administered questionnaire.
- Funnel questions means from general to specific. e.g.
- Filter questions means general questions asked of respondents to find out whether they need to be asked more specific questions.
 

Concepts from Mdm Tan's Website. Paraphrased and edited by Web-master.